MUMBAI: Viacom 18’s ‘Special Chabbis’, directed by Neeraj Pandey, featuring Akshay Kumar, Kajal Aggarwal and Anupam Kher, has taken an average opening day at the box office. The film has hit theatres on 8 February and has seen a mediocre start on Day 1.

Director Neeraj Pandey’s (of ‘A Wednesday’ fame) ‘Special 26’ has garnered approximately Rs 62.5 million (Rs 6.25 crore net) on Day 1. The film began on a very soft note with only about 30% occupancy during the day, however evening shows saw some pick up. Mumbai, Delhi and parts of Punjab have contributed to the majority of the film’s business.

The film has seen a fair amount of promotions, but considering that the only other Bollywood release this week is Prabhu Deva’s ‘Any Body Can Dance’ or ‘ABCD’, which is a smaller- budget film centered around the theme of dance – clearly for a niche audience; Special Chabbis’ performance on day one is not so encouraging. The reviews too are mixed, indicating that the film may have difficult times ahead.